Chapter 63

They were on a collision course with the Sno Cat. Finn scanned the battered snow machine. Its windshield was a jagged mess, and blood soaked the cab. The armor surrounding the gunner had been dented badly, from the onslaught by the twins. Finn focused his fire on the barrel of the Snow Cat's machine gun, trying to disable it.

Suddenly, a man carrying a long tube over his shoulder jumped out from behind the Snow Cat and dropped to his knees. Before he could fire the RPG, Finn centered him in the holographic EO Tech site and cut him down with a well placed burst that stitched from his groin to his face. The man pulled the trigger and the rocket leaped from the tube but spiraled out of control and flew harmlessly past the SRT-8.

Finn dropped the spent magazine and clipped a new one in. "Hey Liv," he shouted into the hatch. "I hate to rush you, but that asshat with the machine gun finished reloading."

"Crap, hang on," Liv warned as she twisted the wheel. "I hope we're close enough."

Finn was nearly flung from the hatch by the violence of the turn. He clung desperately to the cold metal and watched with amazement as the log took flight, whipping behind them in a deadly arc.

Liv had timed the turn perfectly, and the thick pine slammed squarely into the armored metal plating on the back of the Sno Cat. The impact deformed the thick metal, which closed around the heavy timber like a grasping metal hand. The force of the collision flipped the big machine completely over, instantly crushing the gunner. "Hooah!" Finn hollered, waving his hands in the air.

"Don't celebrate too much, we ain't out of the woods yet," Liv yelled back at him. She gunned the Jeep, but the tracks spun uselessly.

"The damn log is stuck to the Sno Cat!" Finn yelled into the hatch. "Back up and I'll cut us free. You gotta cover me because those snowmobiles are coming in fast." Before Liv could protest, Finn leaped out of the hatch and jumped to the ground. Liv shook her head and shifted into reverse to put some slack in the chain.

Finn heart was beating rapidly, and he could hear the roar of the advancing snowmobiles. Their drivers sensed an easy target, and they were closing in, fast. The buzz of their high pitched exhausts grew louder, lending urgency to his mission. He reached into his pants and whipped out the Strider pocket knife. But in his haste, and because of his numb hands, the knife flew from his fingers and buried itself in the chest deep snow.

Finn could feel panic building in his throat. He frantically dug into the powder, searching for the wayward knife. Moments later, his fingers closed around the handle. With a fumbling motion, he cut the rope holding the chain to the hook and freed the Jeep from the dead Sno Cat.

Finn could see the steam coming from the breath of the nearest snowmobile driver. He was only twenty yards from the passenger's side of the Jeep. Finn made a split second decision, hoping it wouldn't cost him his life. "Oh shit, you better come through." He slapped the back of the Jeep with the Strider, hoping Liv would understand. He took one last look at the roaring snowmobile and dove deep into the snow.

"Shit." Liv heard the thwacking sound of the knife on the armor, and fought the surging sense of anxiety that threatened to consume her. She closed her eyes, hoping she wasn't about to kill Finn. With trepidation, she pressed the button that triggered the passenger side Claymore.

The concussion stunned Finn, and metal ball bearings whistled through the cold air just above his head, shredding the snowmobile and its driver. Finn heard the Hemi rev up, and the tracks flung snow in his direction as the Jeep raced off in hot pursuit of the last remaining snowmobile.